PASL San Diego Sockers

San Diego Sockers Game Preview

Published on January 20, 2011 under Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
San Diego Sockers News Release


WEEK ELEVEN

NEXT GAME: SOCKERS AT LAS VEGAS

SOCKERS (8-2) at Las Vegas Knights (1-1)

DATE: Friday, January 21st, 2011

PLACE: Las Vegas Indoor Soccer

TIME: 6:05pm (PST)

BROADCAST: 619Sports.Net (live)

TV: none

SOCKERS RETURN TO US OPEN PLAY

In order to defend their US Open for Arena Soccer title, the San Diego Sockers will need to win a pair of games away from home. The first leg is a trip to Las Vegas to take on the Knights of the PASL-Premier league in the Western semi-final. Vegas earned their way into the semis by defeating the Fort Collins Fury of the Premier league, while the Sockers beat the Fusion 7-5. The winner will face the Tacoma Stars in Washington to determine the Western representative in the Open Cup final. US Open games do not count toward the PASL-Pro regular season standings or statistics.

THE ROAD AHEAD

San Diego will travel to Tacoma to face the Stars in back-to-back games at the Tacoma Soccer Center on Friday February 4th and Saturday, February 5th. Should the Sockers (undefeated all-time vs. Premier teams) advance through Las Vegas, the second of those back-to-back games would double as both a league match and the US Open Western final.

SOCKERS DEFENSE SHINES IN TIJUANA

On one of the toughest fields to defend in the PASL-Pro, the Sockers allowed a season-best three goals in their 6-3 victory over Revolucion Tijuana on Saturday night. While Riley Swift was strong in goal, Sockers defenders Scotty Martin and Dan Antoniuk both received nods for their sterling play in front of their keeper. In addition, Antoniuk had two power-play goals and an assist, and Martin chipped in his eighth assist of the season.

NEXT HOME GAME: REVOLUCION REMATCH

The Sockers will face Revolucion Tijuana in their next home game, set for Saturday, January 29th at 6:15pm. Tickets are available at sdsockers.com or by calling (866) 799-GOAL.

OPPONENT'S PROFILE: Las Vegas Knights

SEASON: 1-1 (PASL-Premier Southwest)

vs. SOCKERS: first meeting in 2010-2011

Last Meeting (11/21/09): Sockers 15, Knights 2

The Las Vegas Knights are a semi-pro team playing their fifth season in the PASL-Premier league. They emerged from a tournament of Rocky Mountain division Premier teams to earn their berth in the US Open Western semi-finals, beating the Fort Collins Fury 7-4 in the tournament final. Last season the Knights went 6-2 in the Premier including 3-1 at home, tying their best record in five seasons of existence.

LAST TIME: SOCKERS BREEZE TO 15-2 WIN

As the defending league PASL-Pro champions, the Sockers' regular season schedule does not include any games against teams from the Premier or Frontier divisions of the PASL. However, the US Open is open to teams from all divisions, which is where such meetings can take place. Last season, the expansion Sockers faced the Knights in the regular season and came away with a 15-2 win at the Del Mar Arena, with Kraig Chiles and Anthony Medina each scoring hat tricks.

STAR: Ezequiel Sanchez, goalkeeper

An original member of the Knights, Sanchez has played all five seasons in goal for Las Vegas and will surely be tested on Friday night. Sanchez is known for his hard work, leadership and defensive play-calling on the field.

WATCH OUT FOR: Matt Hall, midfielder

Hall has moved from Arizona to Las Vegas and is a regular starter for the Knights in midfield. Vegas will be scrambling to fill their side of 13 due to difficulty getting players off of work on a Friday night.

Check out the San Diego Sockers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Professional Arena Soccer League Stories from January 20, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central